Deadspin | Leon Draisaitl, Oilers send series back to Anaheim for Game 6 
Apr 28, 2026; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl (29) scores a goal during the first period against Anaheim Ducks goaltender Lucas Dostal (1) in game five of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images Leon Draisaitl scored two goals for the Edmonton Oilers, who stayed alive in their Western Conference first-round playoff series with a 4-1 win against the visiting Anaheim Ducks in Game 5 on Tuesday night.
The Ducks hold a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series heading into Game 6 on Thursday in Anaheim.
Vasily Podkolzin and Zach Hyman also scored for the Oilers, who chased Anaheim goalie Lukas Dostal after tallying three goals in the first 10:13. Evan Bouchard had three assists, and Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each had two assists.
Connor Ingram made 29 saves for the two-time defending Western Conference champions after backing up Tristan Jarry in the Oilers’ 4-3 overtime loss at Anaheim in Game 4 on Sunday.
Alex Killorn scored for the Ducks, who remain one victory away from earning their first playoff series victory in nine years.
Dostal stopped just six of nine shots before he was replaced by Ville Husso, who finished with 10 saves.
The Oilers scored on the first shot of the game for the second straight game, and they also scored first for the fifth straight time in the series.
Bouchard pulled up at the right point before fitting a pass between two Anaheim defenders to Podkolzin in the left faceoff circle. Podkolzin beat Dostal up high on the short side with a wrist shot for a 1-0 lead at 2:22 of the first period.
Dostal’s clearing attempt from behind his net banked off the sideboards and was intercepted by Nugent-Hopkins, who fired the puck to the front of the crease, where Hyman was waiting to redirect it between Dostal’s pads for a 2-0 lead at 8:33.
Bouchard took another blast from just inside the blue line and Draisaitl deflected it into the net to make it 3-0 at 10:13 and end the night for Dostal.
The Ducks scored their seventh power-play goal of the series when Killorn finished off a feed from Mason McTavish in the slot to cap a 3-on-2 rush and cut the margin to 3-1 at 8:26 of the second period.
That momentum didn’t last long as Anaheim defenseman Jacob Trouba committed a tripping penalty 16 seconds later. Draisaitl scored on the ensuing power play with a one-timer from the right circle, extending the lead to 4-1 at 10:24.
The Oilers were outshooting the Ducks 12-3 through the first 18 1/2 minutes of the game before Anaheim finished with a 30-20 edge.
–Field Level Media
#Deadspin #Leon #Draisaitl #Oilers #send #series #Anaheim #Game
Apr 28, 2026; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl (29) scores a goal during the first period against Anaheim Ducks goaltender Lucas Dostal (1) in game five of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images Leon Draisaitl scored two goals for the Edmonton Oilers, who stayed alive in their Western Conference first-round playoff series with a 4-1 win against the visiting Anaheim Ducks in Game 5 on Tuesday night.
The Ducks hold a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series heading into Game 6 on Thursday in Anaheim.
Vasily Podkolzin and Zach Hyman also scored for the Oilers, who chased Anaheim goalie Lukas Dostal after tallying three goals in the first 10:13. Evan Bouchard had three assists, and Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each had two assists.
Connor Ingram made 29 saves for the two-time defending Western Conference champions after backing up Tristan Jarry in the Oilers’ 4-3 overtime loss at Anaheim in Game 4 on Sunday.
Alex Killorn scored for the Ducks, who remain one victory away from earning their first playoff series victory in nine years.
Dostal stopped just six of nine shots before he was replaced by Ville Husso, who finished with 10 saves.
The Oilers scored on the first shot of the game for the second straight game, and they also scored first for the fifth straight time in the series.
Bouchard pulled up at the right point before fitting a pass between two Anaheim defenders to Podkolzin in the left faceoff circle. Podkolzin beat Dostal up high on the short side with a wrist shot for a 1-0 lead at 2:22 of the first period.
Dostal’s clearing attempt from behind his net banked off the sideboards and was intercepted by Nugent-Hopkins, who fired the puck to the front of the crease, where Hyman was waiting to redirect it between Dostal’s pads for a 2-0 lead at 8:33.
Bouchard took another blast from just inside the blue line and Draisaitl deflected it into the net to make it 3-0 at 10:13 and end the night for Dostal.
The Ducks scored their seventh power-play goal of the series when Killorn finished off a feed from Mason McTavish in the slot to cap a 3-on-2 rush and cut the margin to 3-1 at 8:26 of the second period.
That momentum didn’t last long as Anaheim defenseman Jacob Trouba committed a tripping penalty 16 seconds later. Draisaitl scored on the ensuing power play with a one-timer from the right circle, extending the lead to 4-1 at 10:24.
The Oilers were outshooting the Ducks 12-3 through the first 18 1/2 minutes of the game before Anaheim finished with a 30-20 edge.
–Field Level Media
![Vox Creative, Roku debut new docuseries on history of American soccer The history of American soccer has spanned well over 120 years, and to date there hasn’t been many opportunities to look back at that history. With the 2026 World Cup about a month away, we now have a chance to do just that. Yesterday, SB Nation collaborated with Vox Creative and Roku to release Soccer Meets America, a 3-part docuseries that focuses on the rise of soccer in the United States.Soccer Meets America focuses around the meteoric rise in popularity, from the North American Soccer League days of the 1970s and 1980s to the 1984 Olympics, leading up to the 1994 World Cup. At the center of that history was Alan Rothenberg, who served as soccer commissioner for the 1984 Olympics, the president of the U.S. Soccer Federation from 1990 to 1998, and the CEO of the 1994 World Cup. He also had a hand in the start of Major League Soccer, adding women’s soccer to the Olympic program in 1996, and bringing the 1999 Women’s World Cup to the United States.Rothenberg recently released a new book entitled The Big Bounce: The Surge that Shaped the Future of U.S. Soccer. In the book, Rothenberg gives an inside account at how American soccer went from the days where leagues were not organized and fizzled quickly to some of the success we have today with leagues like Major League Soccer, the National Women’s Soccer League, and the United Soccer Leagues. He details his firsthand knowledge of what it took for the United States to host a successful soccer tournament at the 1984 Olympics, how the nation won the bid to host the 1994 World Cup, and how he was able to organize the federation to get everything done and push the game forward. He recently sat down for an interview on the USA Soccercast, and in that interview, he mentioned that the rise in popularity of the game wasn’t based on one big moment, but a sustained buildup of momentum.“[American soccer] sort of grew when I was starting in 1990,” Alan Rothenberg, former U.S. Soccer president and CEO of the 1994 World Cup, said in an interview for the USA Soccercast. “I had a glimpse of it back in the 70s when we had a team in Los Angeles ,and obviously the Cosmos set the world on fire at that time with Pelé and [Franz] Beckebauer…you had Giants Stadium. So there were those glimpses of what the future could hold. But as we started to build the soccer federation, our [1994] World cup team and the World cup organization, it just started to accelerate. So there wasn’t one ‘a ha!’ moment.”Soccer Meets America takes the unique yet unexpected path of professional soccer in the United States andn gives the story some definition. Through people like Rothenberg, we see that the history is shaped by chance, persistence, and communities that kept the game alive long before it found mainstream recognition. Starting with the sport’s deep roots in immigrant communities in the 1920s, each episode of the docuseries explores soccer on a personal and professional level. Both nostalgic and forward-facing, the series features a variety of influential figures in American soccer and aims to resonate with new and old fans of the sport alike.But there’s also the legacy of the 2026 World Cup, which will be different from what it was in 1994. “Well, obviously we’re starting from a different baseline,” Rothenberg said. “We started at virtually zero back in [1990], and now we’re starting from level 60 or 75…so the dramatic consequences will not be the same as they were after 94, but I think it’s going to be a huge spike in interest in the sport at all levels.”To grow the history, you must learn from it. And Soccer Meets America gives you a review of America’s soccer history and strengthes the foundations from which the sport’s culture and passion were created. As we approach the World Cup, that knowledge will be essential to craft the legacy that will carry long after the tournament ends. #Vox #Creative #Roku #debut #docuseries #history #American #soccer](https://i3.wp.com/platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/gettyimages-2273772608.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C10.740350081171%2C100%2C78.519299837658&w=1200&ssl=1 "Vox Creative, Roku debut new docuseries on history of American soccer The history of American soccer has spanned well over 120 years, and to date there hasn’t been many opportunities to look back at that history. With the 2026 World Cup about a month away, we now have a chance to do just that. Yesterday, SB Nation collaborated with Vox Creative and Roku to release Soccer Meets America, a 3-part docuseries that focuses on the rise of soccer in the United States.Soccer Meets America focuses around the meteoric rise in popularity, from the North American Soccer League days of the 1970s and 1980s to the 1984 Olympics, leading up to the 1994 World Cup. At the center of that history was Alan Rothenberg, who served as soccer commissioner for the 1984 Olympics, the president of the U.S. Soccer Federation from 1990 to 1998, and the CEO of the 1994 World Cup. He also had a hand in the start of Major League Soccer, adding women’s soccer to the Olympic program in 1996, and bringing the 1999 Women’s World Cup to the United States.Rothenberg recently released a new book entitled The Big Bounce: The Surge that Shaped the Future of U.S. Soccer. In the book, Rothenberg gives an inside account at how American soccer went from the days where leagues were not organized and fizzled quickly to some of the success we have today with leagues like Major League Soccer, the National Women’s Soccer League, and the United Soccer Leagues. He details his firsthand knowledge of what it took for the United States to host a successful soccer tournament at the 1984 Olympics, how the nation won the bid to host the 1994 World Cup, and how he was able to organize the federation to get everything done and push the game forward. He recently sat down for an interview on the USA Soccercast, and in that interview, he mentioned that the rise in popularity of the game wasn’t based on one big moment, but a sustained buildup of momentum.“[American soccer] sort of grew when I was starting in 1990,” Alan Rothenberg, former U.S. Soccer president and CEO of the 1994 World Cup, said in an interview for the USA Soccercast. “I had a glimpse of it back in the 70s when we had a team in Los Angeles ,and obviously the Cosmos set the world on fire at that time with Pelé and [Franz] Beckebauer…you had Giants Stadium. So there were those glimpses of what the future could hold. But as we started to build the soccer federation, our [1994] World cup team and the World cup organization, it just started to accelerate. So there wasn’t one ‘a ha!’ moment.”Soccer Meets America takes the unique yet unexpected path of professional soccer in the United States andn gives the story some definition. Through people like Rothenberg, we see that the history is shaped by chance, persistence, and communities that kept the game alive long before it found mainstream recognition. Starting with the sport’s deep roots in immigrant communities in the 1920s, each episode of the docuseries explores soccer on a personal and professional level. Both nostalgic and forward-facing, the series features a variety of influential figures in American soccer and aims to resonate with new and old fans of the sport alike.But there’s also the legacy of the 2026 World Cup, which will be different from what it was in 1994. “Well, obviously we’re starting from a different baseline,” Rothenberg said. “We started at virtually zero back in [1990], and now we’re starting from level 60 or 75…so the dramatic consequences will not be the same as they were after 94, but I think it’s going to be a huge spike in interest in the sport at all levels.”To grow the history, you must learn from it. And Soccer Meets America gives you a review of America’s soccer history and strengthes the foundations from which the sport’s culture and passion were created. As we approach the World Cup, that knowledge will be essential to craft the legacy that will carry long after the tournament ends. #Vox #Creative #Roku #debut #docuseries #history #American #soccer")
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